Overdue kayakers found safe on island

NEW CASTLE — A pair of overdue kayakers were found safe on an island eating lobster Monday night, after an intensive four-hour search by the Coast Guard along the Piscataqua River.

Charles McMahon

NEW CASTLE — A pair of overdue kayakers were found safe on an island eating lobster Monday night, after an intensive four-hour search by the Coast Guard along the Piscataqua River.

The search began shortly after 9 p.m., when a New Castle resident reported to local police that they had seen somebody putting a kayak in the water near the causeway earlier in the day, according to Coast Guard Chief Dave Andreesen. The resident told police they noticed the car was still there later in the evening, and neither the owner nor their kayak was in sight.

Andreesen, who is in charge of Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor, said police responded to the causeway and found two cars, both with empty kayak racks. Police looked up the license plate information on both vehicles and traced back both owners to Auburn, Andreesen said. A police unit in that town was dispatched to the homes of both vehicle owners but found no one, he added.

As a result, Andreesen said the local Coast Guard station dispatched a 25-foot boat to search for the kayakers. A Coast Guard helicopter was also called in from Cape Cod to assist. Members of N.H. Marine Patrol assisted in the search as well. Hours later, Andreesen said, crews decided to search an area in Little Harbor known as Leach's Island, where kayakers are known to frequent.

Andreesen said the helicopter responded to the island, landed, and found the kayakers sitting around a campfire eating lobster. After verifying both kayakers were safe, Andreesen said the search was called off at about 1:30 a.m., and the kayakers were left on the island.

Andreesen said there's an important lesson to take away from the incident: "If you're going to leave cars overnight, you should put a note on it," he said. "I would also recommend letting people know where you're going."

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